Arthur Quiller-Couch says one should read poetry to children (speaking on Childrens' Literature) in a good strong voice with no stops to explain all the allusions and metaphors, allowing the children to ask questions at the end of the reading. One may call upon one child at a time to read outloud (as in a class) but never to interrupt for corrections until the end. At a greater level of understanding, one must read rather extensively to know a) the culture of the time in which the poem was written, and b) the life of the author, which is I suppose why I study of history is essential to a study of literature. With poetry, the spirit of the word comes to the child's heart by hearing, reading, singing, acting it and building upon it.
If there is a 'bottom line' for the purpose of poetry, it is, in Q's words, 'less [in] its subject than its song. Though life condemn [a child] to live it through in the Valley of Humiliation, I want to hear the Shepherd Boy singing.'
Thursday 6 July 2006
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